• Internet Explorer 8 RC1: First Look

    Internet Explorer 8 RC1: First Look

    Rahul Srinivas, Jan 28, 2009 1736 hrs IST

    Similar to IE 8 Beta, adds Clickjack feature

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Microsoft has finally released the first release candidate for Internet Explorer 8 promising to make the Internet experience faster, secure and more compliant with web standards.


 


The new version of the Release Candidate 1 was out on Monday and we took it for a quick spin. Here's what it looks like prima facie. On the looks front, there is no visible change from the Beta version. However, this one does share a family resemblance to IE7. However, its under the skin that the major changes have taken place - as claimed by Microsoft.


 


If you have been using Internet Explorer 8 beta for a while, you might have been used to the features that include enhanced tabbed browsing. If you're wondering what this "enhanced" tabbed browsing is, read on:

Tabbed Browsing



While tabbed browsing had made it to Internet Explorer since the IE7 days, whats new this time is the option to re-open accidentally closed tabs. This feature is present in Firefox and Chrome already - so no, its not something very revolutionary. The browser also has the ability to color code and group similar tabs together. Google's Chrome too boasts of a similar feature.



Then there is the much talked about tab isolation feature. The idea behind this feature is that each tab in an open IE8 window has its own process and a crash in one of the tabs will (ideally) not affect the entire browser and cause it crash. Sounds similar? Google's Chrome too has something similar and my experience with that too has not been very pleasant.


 



Caption: The IE 8 Beta and RC1 versions compared

Security



Being the latest version of the Microsoft's browser, this one is obviously touted as the most secure ever. The most notable addition is the introduction of the Clickjacking feature. Clickjacking enables hackers and data snoopers weave a filter on sites so they can view the information being accessed from the browser. This can be extremely dangerous if you're an online banking user and frequently handle financial transactions online, the feature might turn out to be useful. The downside however is that, for it to work, webmasters will need to put a tag in the page header, which will help detect and eventually prevent clickjacking.

InPrivate



Microsoft had debuted the InPrivate mode for anonymous browsing in the Beta version of IE8. In the latest update, the browser features two security features called the InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering. A new InPrivate window can be opened by Ctrl+shift+P while the Ctrl+Shift+F option will open the InPrivate filtering option. The filtering feature was integrated with the browsing feature in the beta. It has now been integrated as a separate feature.


 



Phishing Filter



IE8 integrates its own Phishing filter called the SmartScreen. The feature analyses websites from an existing database and marks them as a probable scam site if it finds something fishy. The flip side is that the authenticity of the website is dependent on the database that has to be constantly updated.

Web Compatibility


This has been one of the focuses for the Engineers behind the IE8. Designing websites optimized for various browsers has always been a challenge for web developers and for the same reason, IE8 has been given the capability to handle W3 web standards so that the appearance of web pages does not change. For those in doubt and used to IE7, there is the compatibility mode that will help it retain the familiar IE7 look.



We did try an ACID3 test on the browser and this is what we came up with.


 



 


If you're a Firefox, Opera or Chrome user, are you ready to make the switch - or at least have a look at what the RC1 has to offer?

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Discussion Board
(37) Comments
natalie
,chicago, on Aug 03, 2010 03:59 AM
out of the few times that i have actually been brave enough to exit firefox and enter ie8, i have not been impressed. three times, i've clicked for a new tab and the whole of ie freezes. unlike firefox, there's no going back when it freezes. it stays frozen, and i don't have the patience to wait for my page to unfreeze. it becomes highly annoying when you're writing an important email, and you're forced to close out. it asks to restore my tabs, i say yes, and it freezes again. it's a horrible browser, and i can truthfully say i'm never giving it another chance. firefox and google chrome all the way.
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kiran
,mumbai, on Feb 04, 2009 10:17 PM
no comments
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Uros Vucetic
,belgrade, on Feb 04, 2009 02:37 AM
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ZeRo?
,Gurgaon, on Jan 30, 2009 11:44 AM
Guys give opera a try.. the features which firefox , chrome, IE brag about were first introduced in OPERA..that too few years back when no one had heard about firefox.. 1. tabbed browsing ( introduced i guess 5 years back) 2. It does not require plugins like firefox for each and every feature, most of it are built in. trust me on this. 2. very light ( I have 55 tabs open and it uses 125 MB where as IE takes 18 MB per TAB!!! Chrome take 15 MB per tab!!!!! opera takes 2.3 MB..you can check it yourself) 3. after the recent upgrades it is flawless in online transactions(Jet,kingfisher,IRCTC,HDFC,AXIS bank) 4. pictures turoff in a click. 5. open any recent windows u closed. 6. IT IS FAST. 7. it is for power user as well as novices. 8. It is different from the crowd (read FIREFOX). well to appreciate the browser, download it, use it for 5 days..and i promise you will never go back any other browser..i guess i have reached a stage where i would pay to user opera.
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aryan
,vsp, on Jan 29, 2009 11:35 AM
IE8= COPY CAT
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Navneet
,Nagpur, on Jan 29, 2009 06:49 AM
What Ever you guys say or write, Microsoft IE is still worlds most used Browser, your silly coments don't affect it from being so.
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Jammit
,Here, on Jan 28, 2009 01:31 PM
Hmmmm And the winner of the 2009 Corporate Moron Awared is..... MICROSOFT! For spewing out a crappy "Me Too" copycat browser - that waddles through the internet with all the speed and grace of a badly constipated dog.
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ZenWarrior
,Albany, NY, USA, on Jan 27, 2009 11:26 PM
IE8 is clearly a product of the original Vista team, and they learned nothing from the Vista fiasco. IE8 lasted about 5 minutes on my pc. And it's just a dislike for M$ which has me saying this. Other recent releases of other software have left me very happy, but not IE8. It's just a broken as is Vista. Microsoft really knows how to run its customers over to the competition. YMMV, but I strongly suggest finding another browers--and that's the first time I've ever said that about IE.
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Amit
,Kolkata, on Jan 27, 2009 10:44 PM
No way, I am switching to IE! Firefox is the best thing in the world
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David
,Cincinnati, on Jan 27, 2009 07:46 PM
I'm a recent firefox convert. I can't see going back!
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Blouchamp Sveng
,Lourdes, on Jan 27, 2009 10:32 PM
I've been using Firefox for a while now and cen't see ever going back to IE.
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Paul
,Moscow (RUS), on Jan 27, 2009 10:25 PM
No thanks Only Google Chrome and nothing else
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Anonymous
,, on Jan 27, 2009 10:07 PM
Haaa Microsoft ONLY put in popup blockers about 6 or 7 years after Opera and then Firefox had them. Every "bright idea" MS ever had was stolen from others Outhouse Explorer - no thanks.
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sam
,Las Vegas, on Jan 27, 2009 10:03 PM
no thank you, it is too late to trust IE anymore,
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poot
,chitown, on Jan 27, 2009 09:57 PM
latest FF3 doesn't do acid3 test 100% either. It was not smooth and got 70/100 score ...so either acid 3 is a lame benchmark or my favorite browser sucks too ;)
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NorCal17
,Los Gatos, on Jan 27, 2009 07:45 PM
IE 8 is horrible, it freezes ( what a surprise) it is not recognized as a browser for my banking. Why I get suckered into the new products I will never know. PC"S suck!!! Long live Apple. I just wish my company could run on a Mac platform.
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Tom
,LA, on Jan 27, 2009 08:00 PM
In your dreams. Companies will continue to use Microsoft products simply because they make more sense business wise. Mac is for artists, not businesses. IE 8 works superb on XP and Vista. What ancient machine are you running IE8 on?
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Jerry
,Bozeman, on Jan 27, 2009 09:02 PM
Ah, just to be clear. I've been winning national and international design awards for a couple of decades on work produced on Microsoft OS, with higher productivity than my Mac-based cohorts. Windows is also for artists.
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Anonymous
,Los Angeles, on Jan 27, 2009 09:55 PM
such an intelligent comment. "PC's suck!!!" brilliant AND helpful.
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suze
,boynton beach, on Jan 27, 2009 09:09 PM
downloaded or upgraded, whatever. First, it couldn't load with the google toolbar so after three times it loaded without. Then it did what ie always does, freeze up. I don't have the patience to wait for it to unfreeze so that's why I use firefox and opera. You can just go about your business in a pleasant way. Why microsoft can't make a browser that runs smoothly is beyond me. I would have liked the added items in ie8, privacy, smart browsing, but it looks like I'll have to wait awhile. It might get better.
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Alex
,NYC, on Jan 27, 2009 09:08 PM
I have IE 8 Beta. I wonder if they fixed that annoying memory leak problem.
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Justin
,Phoenix, on Jan 27, 2009 09:07 PM
The only reason why IE is still installed on my work computer is because I need it for active-x objects to do my job. Even then I use IEtab plugin for Firefox. My personal computers running Windows have had IE removed. I stopped coding for IE years ago when I realized that MS cares little to nothing about web standards. Also, why do new features mean anything if the web site I am looking at still can't be displayed properly?
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Rob
,St. Louis, on Jan 27, 2009 08:57 PM
IE8 is still 11 years behind web standards. It still does not support XHTML, SVG, CSS2.1 (as claimed by MS), proper DOM and Javascript, and only partly catches up to where all other browsers were a few years ago. IE8 continues to hold back the web and until it either disappears or can jump ahead 5 years, it will continue to frustrate and disappoint web developers just trying to get the job done.
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part pc part ma
,chicago, on Jan 27, 2009 08:48 PM
ie8 rc1 is a total waste of time. throws out errors right and left, won't open a link in another tab even though i set the options to do so, it is ultra slow compared to chrome or ff and now it is off my pc. if this is the crap the ms is continuing to vomit then i will stick with ff, chrome or maybe completely switch to my mac. oh, im not a mac fanboy btw.
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Andrew DeFaria
,Tempe, AZ, on Jan 27, 2009 08:43 PM
A 20 on Acid3?!? Even FF achieves 71! Tell me again why I should think of switching?
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Marjoe
,Houston, on Jan 27, 2009 08:23 PM
So far IE8 has been good for me. One tab errored out for me and whole browser didn't close, and when I only had one tab that errored out it allowed me to resume where I left off when I reopen another instance. I like the InPrivate functionality.
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John_B
,Flyover Country, on Jan 27, 2009 08:05 PM
Meh. New browser, blah, blah, blah... Call me when it supports the same functionality as FF with Adblock Plus (with the element hider) and FlashBlock.
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Raman
,new york, on Jan 27, 2009 07:29 PM
For a while, IE releases look like "me too" version of what others already version. No point taking a step back from other more modern browsers.
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Tom
,LA, on Jan 27, 2009 08:02 PM
Looks like you have never seen or tested IE8. Don't make foolish comments. Try it before judging. Many IE8 features are firsts and originals - not to be found on any other browsers - yet.
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Frank J
,Chicago, on Jan 27, 2009 07:58 PM
This is a great write up and full of great info on Release Candidate 1 of IE 8. I am hoping this one gets off the ground better than previous releases of the popular browser.
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Joe Shmoe
,New York, on Jan 27, 2009 07:21 PM
Is IE even relevant anymore?
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Joel Kinzel
,Flagstaff, on Jan 27, 2009 07:56 PM
Are you kidding me? Have you looked at statistics? It is still, by far, the most widely used browser. And to the Mac fan boy who posted, go troll somewhere else. I've used IE8 since it's beta and have had no problems. Safari on the other hand, well lets just say I stopped using it after about one day.
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Tom
,LA, on Jan 27, 2009 07:58 PM
of course it is relevant. its still the leading browser. being ignorant won't get you anywhere. the new features of IE8 are not to be found on Firefox browsers - at least yet - until they copy IE8.
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bobeaux
,asheville nc, on Jan 27, 2009 07:50 PM
I switched to Chrome - no delays - no freezeups - no BS - IE lost me as a customer over a year ago. will take a lot of convincing to get me back.
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Tim
,Newport, on Jan 27, 2009 07:44 PM
I've used Firefox for a few of years now and am happy with it; but I'll be giving IE8 a try.
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Thom
,Caldwell, on Jan 27, 2009 07:40 PM
Because my company still uses features, such as web exchange mail, etc. That use scripting technology only available in IE, I still use IE from time to time...But, until they figure out that users really have grown accustomed to the Home button, etc. on the left-hand side of the browser window, IE has become too tedious to use on a regular basis. Now, if Mozilla-based browsers can figure out how to get half of the crap I want to script to work, they'd have something. Until that happens, IE will always have a place with the Web design world.
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FunkyAndroid
,The Shire, on Jan 27, 2009 07:15 PM
lol epic fail
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